


what is "here" to you?

by daryldixonaf



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Gen, MAJOR SPOILERS FOR 5X02, i'm not sure if this is fluffy or angsty or both
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 16:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11234898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daryldixonaf/pseuds/daryldixonaf
Summary: beth takes care of her sisters when they die.she also sucks at baking.





	what is "here" to you?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [everyone who is sad after 5x02](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=everyone+who+is+sad+after+5x02).



> huge thanks to elle (lisbethchilds) on tumblr for basically cowriting this with me because we're both in love with the idea of beth being the mom friend <3
> 
> p.s. there's confetti in "here", too
> 
> p.p.s it has all of their faces on it

Beth loves her sisters. She loves them so fiercely it's like a fire inside of her and she wishes so desperately she could've known them under different circumstances. What she once thought were copies of herself have turned out to be some of the most diverse people she's ever met and she wouldn't trade this weird little family for anything.

On the other hand, Beth absolutely despises having to welcome her sisters into the afterlife. (Or whatever you could call this place.) She hadn't been very religious when she was alive but what she had here was something. Something real. And only the dead belong here- which is why she hates it when more and more of her family keep showing up.

She's come to realize that "here" is a placeholder term more than an actual place. "Here" refers to what you loved most while you were alive. In Beth's case it was her high school track, her mom's favorite grocery store, the precinct she'd been employed in during her entire career. She's never really sure if she should ask her sisters what they see. If it'd be too personal...or if maybe they won't mind because now they have all the time in the world.

Every time one of her sisters die, she welcomes them the best she can. She tries her best to be happy, despite the circumstances and lets them know everything is okay. It used to be hard- comforting people when you could barely understand it all yourself. But Beth has been here so long it's almost natural.

The first clone to arrive after Beth is Katja. Poor, sick, desperate Katja. She isn't coughing anymore and the wheeze in her voice is gone. Beth carefully takes her hand and leads her towards her sisters. The sisters Katja barely had time to learn about. They all greet her warmly, complimenting her scarlet hair and listening as she tells them about her life. (Katja, Beth learns, is not preserved at all and will absolutely tell everyone about what "here" is to her.)

Eventually, the sisters that are here fall into a routine of sorts. Taking care of each other, exchanging life stories, everything in between.

When Mika comes, Beth isn't sure whether she wants to cry or laugh. Mika- the sweetest of her sisters by far, the most gentle, the most fragile. She definitely doesn't deserve to die yet. But Beth had missed her so much and had been so concerned that she forgets to think. She immediately pulls her sister into a hug, relishing in the way Mika smells like iced tea and feels like everything warm and soft.

"Are you okay," Beth whispers against Mika's hair, still refusing to pry her hands from around her surprisingly angel wingless shoulder blades.

"I think so," she replies in a soft voice. "I don't feel anything anymore. That's a good thing, I think."

"You're safe with us now. I can protect you," Beth says.

"Yeah," Mika nods. "But I don't need protecting anymore. Nothing can hurt me."

Beth beams and feels her eyes crinkle up for what seems like the first time in ages. Mika grins back until her dimples show and Beth finally feels relieved.

She attempts to make Mika brownies, even if it isn't necessary to eat here. Of course, she ends up burning them to a crisp, leaving all of "here" to smell like burnt chocolate but no one is angry. Niki even manages to remake them and they're perfect this time and Beth can't help but smile again and again and again.

Mika approaches Beth at some point with that curious glint in her eye and Beth is prepared for a bombard of questions. Instead, Mika shuffles in place in front of her and clears her throat.

"Beth?" she asks, still playing with her hands.

"Yes?"

"What- what does this place look like to you?"

Beth is taken aback for a few seconds. Mika, of all people, wants to know about something so intimate.

"It's the park I run at," she answers, as calm as her voice allows her to.

"That's nice- um. Beth. I was so worried about you. When you left," Mika says. She reaches for Beth's hand and Beth willingly lets her.

"That makes the two of us," Beth smiles and squeezes the fingers that clutch onto hers.

"Mine is a beach that I used to come to," she says. "With Niki. I think she sees it too. I really wish you could've seen it."

"Me too, Mika. Me too," Beth brushes the bangs away from her sister's eyes. "But we have all the time we need. To see everything."

Mika's eyes light up and she nods excitedly.

"Beth?"

"Yeah?"

_"Thank you."_

**Author's Note:**

> no joke i literally had to google "bones that look like wings" to try and remember what shoulderblades were called. yikes.


End file.
